Questions tagged [bridge]
A 4 player trick-taking card game where opposing partners try to either take the number of tricks they bid or prevent their opponents from doing so. When asking questions on bidding or play, please specify scoring system (Rubber, Matchpoints, IMPS, ec.), Dealer, vulnerability for both sides, full auction to the point of inquiry, and as complete a description of the visible hands as you can, including spot cards instead of x's.
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Why is the strong 1NT so prevalent in Bridge?
Bridge is widely considered to be the queen of card games on both sides of the Atlantic. However, there's one huge difference between the way that (most) Americans and (most) Britons play. In ...
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Is bidding in contract bridge just a matter of applying a set of rules?
Some years ago I tried to learn to play contract bridge with some friends and I never really understood the philosophy (for want of a better word) of bidding. It seemed as if we just had to learn a ...
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Is it unethical to "mislead" partner if s/he is the weakest player at the table?
Normally (on defense), you try to play in a way to reasonably "signal" and inform partner of your holdings. But suppose partner is the weakest player at the table, and is unlikely to read ...
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Why are beginning to intermediate bridge players told to delay learning how to bid certain types of unusual hands?
When learning modern bidding (Standard American 5 card majors in my case), I noticed that the system's bidding techniques and common conventions described good ways of getting to a reasonable contract ...
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Hesitating as bluff
The contracting player leads a trump. As the next player I make an obvious hesitation before playing my singleton 10 of trumps. At the end of the hand my opponent, who did not call the director, ...
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Is there a good casual online place to practice/learn bridge?
I know that Pogo.com (which powers Yahoo Games) has a long running online bridge game and that there are a handful of places for serious tournament/MasterPoint level bridge players online (though most ...
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Why is there a bonus for holding honors in bridge? Isn't having 4-5 of the highest trumps privileges enough?
After I read about honors in bridge, I quickly started wondering why they were added to the scoring system. Its obviously a privilege to be holding the cards required, so I can see why the scoring ...
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What is the penalty for failing to follow suit?
Assume the mistake is unintentional, what course of action should be taken when this occurs and is discovered?
If the person discovers themselves that they earlier made the mistake, is the penalty ...
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What is the point in disclosure of the bidding system to opponents?
I fully understand and agree with the rule "do not communicate in illegal ways" (pose, tone of voice, etc), but I don't quite understand the point in requiring the disclosure of one's bidding system ...
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Response to "convenient" minor bid
My partner opened 1 Club. I held:
S: J732
H: -
D: Axxxx
C: QJxx
She was upset that I bid two clubs rather than 1 Spade. I did not think the Spade suit was good enough to bid. What do you think....
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Simplest bidding system for introduction into bridge
What is the best bidding system which can be used for teaching beginners (who never played bridge before)?
I suspect that showing any complicated system, or asking to learn some long manual would ...
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Why don't bridge players try to surprise their opponents by learning a different bidding system?
Sort of a follow-up question to Why don't the meanings of specific bids need to be considered when giving advice?
As I understand the answers to that question, most bridge players play variants of the ...
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Does it make sense for a defender to lead a short major when opponents fail to find a fit using Stayman?
Both vulnerable, at rubber, South dealt and bid 1NT, North 2 clubs, South 2 hearts, North 3NT.
You, West, have (s) 64 (h) AJ7 (d)J8752 (c) Q84.
North clearly has four spades, but not hearts. Any ...
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Bridge - Counting and Visualising
Been playing Bridge for a couple of years now. Have improved in bidding, strategy and other stuff. But one place where there is no improvement is counting and visualising.
At best, I can keep track ...
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In bridge which bids need alerting?
When playing bridge which bids need to be pointed out/alerted?
anon77
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Question on ethics or rules
I would very much like to know the correct ethical procedure for the following play. Hearts are trump.
West led a small club
North played a small club
East played a small spade
I as South played a ...
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When will playing Rubber Bridge vs. Duplicate Bridge affect your decisions?
In Rubber Bridge, you are trying to get more points than your opponents. In Duplicate Bridge, you are trying to get more points than the other people playing the same hand later on do. For a while I ...
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Do good bridge players memorize all cards played?
Certainly, they track the quantity of each suit and the high value cards, but I'm curious if good bridge players also remember, say, whether someone ducked the ace using a 7 of spades vs a 6 of spades....
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Is it better to learn to play bridge by reading about it, or just playing?
I'm an avid card player, and I have a particular love for trick-taking games (above all, Hearts and Spades). I've wanted to learn to play bridge for a long time, and I've bought two different books on ...
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In Bridge Play, What is Meant by "Combining Your Chances?"
I was in a NT contract. After the initial rounds of play, the last few (visible) cards were something like these in two suits (call them spades and hearts):
dummy:
spades KJx
Hearts xxx
Me:
Spades ...
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What is the Purpose of a "Ducking" Play In Bridge?
Sometimes I will have Axx in a key suit, opposite dummy's holdings of Kxxxx. In such situations, I was taught to make a "ducking" play by playing a low card from both sides, instead of playing an A or ...
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Can't understand the meaning of 'heart finesse'
What does the phrase heart finesse mean? It appears to be a card term:
From "The Logic of Women" by Bernard Marcoux, Montreal:
Think about it a little: if the heart finesse was necessary to ...
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American Five Card majors - using Jacoby to respond to a 2NT opening bid
Playing Bridge last night my partner opened 2NT, showing 20-21 points. I had 11 HCP and a five card major. I used Jacoby Transfer, calling 3 hearts and my partner responded 3 spades (all OK so far) I ...
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What is the penalty for the dummy failing to follow suit?
I failed to have the dummy follow suit because the remaining card of that suit was accidentally hidden under a card of another suit. This was discovered later in the game, and treated as a normal ...
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Why is the King of Spades the best opening lead with this hand?
Well, you pick up this hand:
K Q J 10 9
x x x
K x
x x x
The opponents bid 1 NT on your right and 3 NT on your left. What would you lead?
Not that difficult, was it? If you line up a million (1.000.000)...
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In Bridge, Which Forms of Deception Are Ethical? Does This Include "Moodying?"
Playing in a casual game of bridge, holding JTx of trumps, I "falsecarded" on the second trump lead with the J. Believing that he had drawn them, declarer stopped leading trumps.
Later, I trumped ...
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How can I practice my opening leads in bridge?
After playing bridge for several months, I feel my declarer play and bidding have improved to a beginner-intermediate level. However, I think my skill at making an opening lead is that of a novice at ...
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Can opponents ask for "alerts" in bridge?
Suppose a bidder makes an unusual bid that is "alertable." The bidder's partner is then supposed to say "alert," and then field questions about the bid.
But suppose the partner fails to do this. Can ...
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Did I misbid a slam?
At matchpoints, with both sides vulnerable, my partner opened one club. I bid one heart (one over one) with the following holding: (s) K9 (h) AQ87642 (d) J (c) A62.
Partner then bid one spade (showing ...
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How do you find not-quite-club level human opponents to regularly play bridge with?
What's a good way to to go about finding human bridge players (kids or adults) that is less intense than what you find at duplicate bridge clubs, but more competitive and learning oriented than ...
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Dummy knows more than declarer
This week I was playing bridge, specifically as dummy in a no-trump contract. With two tricks to go, the lead was in dummy, and my partner said "Play either, they're both losers." Actually she had ...
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Getting started with trick-taking games (whist, euchre, bridge, pinochle, etc.) [closed]
I've heard there are a lot of different trick-taking games out there, such as whist, bridge, euchre, pinochle, oh hell, hearts etc. I've heard a lot of good things about these games, but have very ...
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Why do the same as others in matchpoint bridge?
The following article about matchpoint tactics in bridge says that you should bid a game that you think everbody else will bid, even if you think the game most likely won't make. I have seen similar ...
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In Bridge, What Is "Playing the Card You Are Known to Hold?"
If you're a declarer, and West leads the queen of spades, with dummy showing the Kx of the suit, while you have Axx in the closed hand, you might take the trick with the K from the dummy, thereby not ...
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What can the dummy player do in Bridge?
We're learning to play Bridge from Gramma, who played the game a lot ~40 years ago but doesn't really remember the rules (or, at least, the reasons behind some rules and conventions).
One of the ...
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What is the purpose of "underruffing" in bridge?
Sometimes declarer will lead a long suit from one hand, for a "ruffing finesse" in order to ruff with a void in the other. If the intervening opponent ruffs with say, the 9, the declarer might "...
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Can one ask for a "time out" to study the hand in bridge?
"West" (the opening leader) has to lead before seeing the dummy. Both declarer (South) and partner (East) ought to study the dummy before playing. But often they do not.
Suppose South wins the trick, ...
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Why open 1NT with a 6 card minor?
I often see good players note on their convention cards that 1NT may contain a 6 card minor. Depending on the strength on the 1NT range, I would bid such hands 1m - 2m (12-15) or 1m - 3m (15-18). What ...
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What Crazy Bridge Bidding Systems Actually Work In Practice?
There's been a lot of talk about bridge bidding in these parts lately. A lot of people like to play "straight down the line", to the point where they're mortally offended when you suggest something "...
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In bridge, what are some exceptions to "second hand low?"
Most beginners are taught to play "second hand low." That is, play a low card if one is led to them, to give the partner a chance to take the trick. This is particularly to avoid situations where ...
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Making 6H (declarer: 54, AKQJTx, -, 98765)
Apparently 6H (small slam with hearts as trump) can be made on this hand, irrespective of the distribution of opposing cards.
How?
You are south (holding 54, AKQJTx, -, 98765) . Dummy is north, the ...
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Opening bidder steals my bid
What do I bid when the opening bidder bids my bid?
E.g. bids 1NT and that is what I want to bid and I don't have a 5 card suit.
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When should I lead a trump?
In which situations should my opening lead be a trump?
For example, when the opponents have a 4-4 fit, or when I have a singleton etc.?
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Online resources for learning/practicing bridge [duplicate]
Are there any good online resources to learn the game. By learn, I mean learn attain the knowledge that one would by buying/reading a good book.
For example, are there any "puzzles" that are well ...
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How can 7NT be played for this hand?
I played a deal online as South and ended up as 3NT +3 (490 points). The deal analysis page indicates that this deal can be played at 7NT.
I retried several times, went straight for 7NT, but all ...
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How is bridge for beginners taught in Taiwan or Italy today, Precision or another method?
I play duplicate bridge, and have recently begun studying the Precision bidding system on my own. Precision was invented by C.C. Wei in the 1960's with Truscott's assistance, and was used with great ...
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How close are top Bridge players to perfect play?
Let's say "God" is playing a hand of bridge. "God" can see all cards, and also controls both hands of the partnership: so "God" plays both North-South or East-West, and ...
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How should hands that are EXTREMELY strong in one suit (10+ cards) be bid?
I'm a bit of a bridge noob, but I'm kind of puzzled about this. Say I have a hand that is ridiculously strong in one suit, say at least 10 cards with all 4 honors (I'll use spades for the example suit)...
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Whatever happened to leading the 4th highest card of your longest suit?
Sort of a follow-up question to Why is this club lead suspicious when partner has two small hearts? and Why is the King of Spades the best opening lead with this hand?
In both those examples, the ...
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What Is a "Reverse" In Bridge?
Partner opened one diamond. I responded 1 NT with the following hand.
♠Txxx ♥Axx ♦Txxx ♣Ax
Partner then rebid two spades. I raised to four spades, reading my partner for 17 points or so. We went ...
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